3.10.04

The Bhoys are back in town

It is a long time since I have been to a football match in person. In fact, the last game I was at, Eyal Berkovitch scored for Celtic, and Billy Dodds scored twice for Dundee Utd in a game we lost 2-1 (before he went to Rangers and came back). It was so long ago that I can't remember what year it was, but I do think that John Barnes was the manager: it was definitely pre-Martin O'Neill. Well, I knew that Celtic were in town today, and I had decided that I was going to go down and take some photos of the crowd, then I thought: Hell, if I'm going to go down to the stadium, then I might as well go to the game. I knew that there would be plenty of tickets going a-begging, since Dundee Utd is not exactly a glamour match (with apologies to Dundee U fans out there, but you know it's true). Liam didn't really want to go, but I made him - his choice was simple: either the footie with me or the garden centre with his Mum and Gran. Once he got there he enjoyed it, although not so much for the ball skills and athleticism of the players on the park as for the often hilarious comments from a group of fans who were sitting in front of us. There is something about the Glasgow accent that makes abuse sound so funny. Liam particularly liked it when they shouted at a steward with a pudding-bowl haircut who stood in front of them, blocking their view of the game. I can't really repeat what was said here, but it did involve sex, fathers, mothers, chip pans and brocolli. The picture is of Chris Sutton scoring Celtic's third goal from the penalty spot in Celtic's 3-0 victory. I know, there are not a lot of fans there, but that was the Dundee Utd end - the Celtic end, where we were, was packed.